


This All Bears Repeating [Discontinued]

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Australia, Alternate Universe - High School, Australiastuck, Dark, F/F, F/M, Humanstuck, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-31
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2017-11-27 16:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cautionary tale about a group of night-owl teenagers.</p><p>This has since been discontinued. Read the seventh "chapter" for information about the ending I was headed for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pilot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Lalonde and her twin, Dave Strider attend a private school in an Australian city by day and run around on the streets with their friends at night

The next mornings were always filled with coffee, energy drinks, tea (if your name is Nepeta) and, of course, teenagers struggling to get to school. Nighttime escapades tended to take some life out of you, even if all you did was run around the suburbs. Of course, no one under such conditions should be expected to attend an overly posh school or even a hellhole that would make prisons look great when the bags under your eyes have haunted you for months.

Or even when you have to do your brother's (already late) science homework on the way to school.

'Hey, Rose.'

Rose, coffee appreciator, walked on, pretending to be else wise occupied with writing down the reason as to why the blood sprayed out of a recently slit aorta, and what the differences between veins and capillaries were.

'Rose, c'mon,' Dave, the energy drink type of person, pestered.

'I'm rather busy now, Dave,' she said, raising a brow at him.

'You have to listen to me, though. I think I'm onto something-'

'Dave, choose. You rap while you do your own late homework, or you give me some peace, and I'll be done in two seconds,' her only response was silence. 

Satisfied, Rose continued writing. 

" _The aorta is not my fault-"_

Rose stared at the paper for a moment. Why on Earth did she write that?

'Not my fault that I didn't have time to do the damn work, between the Photography Club and midnight-'

Dave said the same thing every week, and Rose knew the words by heart, and, honestly, there was no point hearing them again.

'Do you have an eraser?' She asked.

'Nah, my rubber is in my locker,' Dave replied.

Rose drew a line through the words she wrote whilst listening to Dave.

'I think,' her brother added in afterthought.

" _The aorta is_ ~~ _not my fault_ ~~ _an artery, meani-"  
_

_Damn._

_'_ You're out of lead,' Rose informed Dave, handing him his pacer back.

'That happens,' he replied. 'Oh, well. Vantas will have to applaud me for _trying_ this shit, anyway.' he made a show of standing up very straight, crumpling his face, and clapping with four fingers. '"At least you've done the best I've seen of you, David. Even if it isn't much."'

Rose laughed, and Dave slumped back over, like normal, and shoved his pacer in his pocket.

'Bogan!' The words drew the twins to a halt.

Although Rose knew the charming pet name was meant for her brother, she turned, too.  
Running towards them from across the road were the dark-haired, olive-skinned Harley-Egberts.

'Overbite,' Dave returned the favour to the boy, as the cousins reached them. As custom between Dave Lalonde-Strider and John Egbert, they bumped fists, forming explosions with splayed fingers from the collision. Dave once had the nerve to tell Rose it was ironic gesture, but she knew deep down that her twin was just as dorky as his best friend.

Rose watched them out of the corner of her eye for a short moment before turning to Jade, the Harley (and female) counterpart to John. 

'Hi, Rose!' Jade said, before grinning more toothily than allowed for a tuesday. She didn't even take caffeine, not that she needed it.

'Hello,' Rose said, smiling, too. Who was she kidding? Jade's energy was at least slightly a contagious thing.

'You guys didn't have too much fun without me, did you?' Jade inquired, shouldering her black and green galaxy bag.

'Not at all. In fact, Eridan and Sollux almost fought again.'

Jade wrinkled her nose. 'That isn't good. Back when they got along more, things were better.'

Rose wasn't able to express her agreement, as Dave wrapped his arm around Jade's waist, and everyone walked once more. Rose had to duck her head under the branches extended out from gardens, Jade and Dave walked contently in the middle of the footpath, and John was driven onto the nature strip.

As Dave expressed genuine desire to know how Jade's morning was between the five minutes they texted and saw each other, John peered around the couple at Rose.

'Hey, Rose,' he said, voiced raised to be heard over the conversation between them.

'Hey,' she echoed, and they looked at one another for a few moments, before realising neither had anything more to say. Rose and John were pretty close up until the past few weeks, when Rose made the mere observation that they wouldn't be too bad as a couple. Of course, John bucked up and told her that he thought her a great friend and definitely nothing more. His reaction was ridiculous. He knew that Rose had a girlfriend. 

Rose and John both looked away, as their relatives both came out of their trances. 

'Rose?' Jade asked, merely to catch Rose's attention.

'Yes?'

'I'm really sorry that I haven't been hanging with you and the rest of them. It's just really been tough at home,' she said, seriously.

Rose gave her an accepting smile. 'It's completely okay, and take your time.'

Rose had no idea as to what was occurring in the Harley-Egbert household that effected Jade. John had no idea about the situation, despite them living together. Once, Aradia asked Jade what was up, and the latter teared up and shook her head.  
Fair enough, though, in Rose's opinion. Every single teenager had their own problems, and perhaps Jade had issues that disabled her ability to completely trust those who she keeps close to her, even, say, a friend who has known her since kindergarten.

Okay, Rose was admittedly a little resentful, but respectful, too, the latter of which she expressed heavily. Anything to keep Jade from going under once more.

* * *

 

Lunch came quicker than usual and Rose was the second person out of her school friends to find herself sitting on the cold, metal seats, in the eating area between blocks A and B. The other person there was, by luck, John.

'You weren't in French,' Rose accused, lightly.

'Yeah, I ditched,' he stated the obvious, while chewing his sandwich, as always, the epitome of charm.

'Why?'

He shrugged, and Rose looked down for a moment.

'Alright, but you can't brush me off every single time I try to talk to you, you evasive minx.'

John failed to suppress a smile, but looked away. Rose would have to try harder, another time.

'Did you just call Egbert a _minx_?' Dave asked, setting his shades down on the metal bench, along with a bag of chips and a small cola.

'Why wouldn't I? You can totally see it in his eyes,' Rose stated, before realising she sounded too _Strider._

Jade laughed a little, and sat Dave's glasses atop her head, which, of course, Dave had no problem with, evident by a peck he left on her cheek. 

He then stared at the Harley-Egberts in seriousness. 'You guys totally have to hit us up, tonight, at the roundabout. We'll be messing around the whole track. It'll be great.' The effect was somewhat ruined by the fizzing of his drink, of which he took a number of gulps from.

'I don't know, Dave,' weighed John, with a skeptically raised brow. 'Last time I tagged along, you dragged me to the skate park and that was a night I'll never get back.'

'Dude, you're being an idiot. Get with the crew and be a damn teenager.'

'And also, I don't really like all those other people.'

Dave stared at John with his red eyes, and John quickly looked down. 'You, sir, are being rude, just because those "other people" aren't _privately-educated people_.'

John shrugged. 'I know the right crowd.'

They all stared at him for a few seconds before Jade spoke up.

'I don't think I'll go either. It's not that I don't like them. I actually think that they're pretty cool… I'm just…' she shrugged, and avoided everyone's gaze.

Dave's mouth twitched, and he put one arm around her, and, with his other hand, he took his glasses down from her head, and settled it onto her nose.

When John first gave them to him, Dave wore the glasses as a barrier between him and those who pitied him. They were his greatest form of protection, and they meant a lot to him. Over time, it grew into yet another of Dirk's taught _ironic_ things, but the fact that Dave let Jade wear his glasses when down… well it could mean nothing much, but in Rose's eyes, her brother wanted to protect Jade.  
Rose's brother was a great person.

Rose decided that now would be a good time to start on her apple. 

'It's alright, Jade,' was all Rose could say before taking a bite of her fruit. Her brother had already said it all.

Jade acknowledged her with a dip of the head before taking a bite of her meat pie, and they all ate in near-silence.

* * *

'You're not going out?' Rose asked her twin, pulling her backpack over her shoulder. Dave was on his computer, in his pyjamas.

'Nah. I think I'll crash early tonight,' he glanced back at her for a moment.

Rose knew the look. He wanted her to stay with him, rather than go out.

Rose allowed a small sigh, and set her bag down on the ground by the door of their shared room. She then strode over to where he sat, and peered over his shoulder. It was just another blog.

Rose sighed again, as she turned away. She rummaged through her closet, and picked up her sleepwear, and edged out of the room.

When she came back, pyjama-clad, the room was completely darkened apart from the glow-in-the-dark galaxy across the roof. Dave's breathing was slow, and he must have been really sleep deprived to fall asleep in such a short period of time. 

Rose walked seven paces forward, and crawled in under the covers of her bed. There was no doubt that somewhere in her bag, her phone was lighting up with a decent amount of texts from Kanaya concerning her whereabouts, but as Rose drifted away, she found she didn't care, as she was so comfortable and-

A loud scream sounded. Not quite very high in pitch, and certainly not unfamiliar. Rose sat up in her bed, and ran to Dave's own. He was curled up in a ball on the doona, and when Rose placed an hand on him, she discovered he was sweating a lot. Rose cringed with the next scream, and wanted to wake him to stop him from dreaming whatever it was that was so awful. However, Dave was violent after these dreams, and the last time she was hurt, Dirk made her promise to always wait for him to do it.

She glanced back at the door, as it creaked open. It was her guardian, who moved quickly to Dave, and knelt down next to him. Rose rushed to the door and turned the light on.

Dirk rolled Dave's shoulder back, forcefully, and Dave jolted upright, thrashing, kicking and yelling. Dirk shoved Dave back onto the bed, roughly, and then pinned him down. It took a few moments for Dave to visibly gather his bearings, and when he did, he stopped fighting, and started crying, instead. Dirk scooped Dave back up into his arms, and Dave pressed into him.

Rose stared at the interaction, and heard Dirk whispering. 

'It's okay, lil bro,' was repeated over and over again, until Dave wore himself out, and lay back down. 

Dirk stood and looked at Rose. 'This is his first nightmare in weeks,' he said, walking past her, and flicking off the switch on the way out. Rose couldn't tell him that the only reason Dave hadn't had nightmares for so long was because he was never even sleeping enough to have them. It didn't matter anyway. Dirk had already closed the door on his way out.

Rose walked eight paces to Dave's bed, and lay next to him, like they used to when they were little, and like they always did when Dave had nightmares.

Rose fell asleep under stars.

 


	2. If You Think This Was Smooth Sailing...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sollux Captor hates his tedious life. These idiots he calls friends don't help much, but he has at least a bit of obligation to them. (That is, he cares about them more than he lets off)

Night was the best. They were filled to the brim with running, and of course, extreme lack of regard for the town. They'd all had their share of wanting to get the hell out of this dumb city. To start anew, and leave everyone behind. Sometimes it filled the teenagers up with a slight discomfort to know that all their friends would leave them in a heartbeat if they had the means, but grudges couldn't be held for that that would never happen. Or, at least, it wouldn't happen in this life.

  
_Especially since I'm too cowardly to ever seize the reigns of my life._

  
Sollux could not believe he'd thought that last bit. What an idiot.  
And even if he meant the bit at the end, what did it matter. The future would be shit, so why not just pay attention to how shit everything was in the present.  
Somethings made things bearable, though. Or perhaps they did in the past. Back when Aradia wasn't so distant, and conventional, and when he and Eridan were best friends, Sollux would actually be ecstatic for the nighttime meet-ups. Now? It was a duty.  
Sollux sped up a little, to walk in time with Kanaya.

  
'Rose still unresponsive?'

  
Kanaya shrugged, and shoved her phone into her pocket. 'Yes, but she probably wanted to catch up on sleep, or something.'

  
Sollux nodded and looked ahead. Aradia, Equius and Nepeta were all moving in time, the two girls laughing at something Equius told them.  Whatever.

  
'Or maybe she found something cooler to do than to hang out with us,' it was, of course, Eridan, who was shrugging off a coat on the other side of Kanaya.

  
'I can understand how one could find something cooler than running around with you,' Sollux said back to Eridan. Who did he think he was, shooting down Kanaya like that. Did he want to be a total prick? 'But Kanaya's likely correct.'

  
Eridan smirked and called to the others. 'Let's pass by the station.'

  
Aradia turned around, but walked backwards, giving Eridan a thumbs up. She stumbled a bit, having trouble not knowing where she was walking, but Equius caught her and turned her around.  
Sollux bit his lip for a short moment, but brushed it off, whatever he was feeling.

  
Kanaya grabbed Sollux by the elbow to get his attention. 'Let's race,' she said, but sped off straight away.

  
Sollux narrowed his eyes, and moved off after her, until they were running side by side. The gold light emitting from above them, and onto the road created shadows of four other kids, who joined Sollux and Kanaya. Aradia laughed, somewhere behind Sollux. At least she was having fun in the same activity that Sollux was partaking in, which seemed a rarity nowadays.

  
Out of nowhere, Nepeta came running from the right side of Kanaya, and crossed over in front of them.  
Sollux let them run together, slowing down his pace. He was easily out of breath, anyway. He spent most of his time indoors, and running was certainly more Nepeta's thing.

  
Equius came up next to him, staring after his best friend thoughtfully.  
'What's up?'  
'Nothing particularly,' Equius said, pulling away hair from his forehead.  
Sollux blinked. 'Alright, then.' Equius and him never really talked much anyway, and when Sollux attempted to strike up conversation, he could never really think of much to say.

  
Sollux, to avoid more talking to Equius, slipped back even further, next to Aradia.  
He wouldn't have to struggle to keep conversation with her for very long, either, as they were almost at the train station.  
'Hey, Sol,' she said, smiling. The tips of her hair blended into her red varsity jacket, and Sollux took a small moment to appreciate the conformity of the damn thing. It was surprising, sometimes, to see how people could change in such a small period of time.  
But still, her smile was perfect. She was perfect. And it hurt Sollux every time she pretended to care.

  
'Hey, AA,' was all he could manage, staring at the ramp of the station. If he acted distant, he was giving her an out.  
Aradia took in a breath as though she might say something, but apparently thought the better of it, as they jogged on.

  
Nepeta gave out a small shout of joy, from the top of the ramp, and Kanaya laughed, but crossed her arms. By the time they were all at the top Nepeta was already standing with Gamzee, talking and exchanging. Aradia quickly moved to join them, followed by Eridan.

Kanaya, Sollux and Equius stayed where the Myki machines were.

  
Kanaya yawned and glanced over at the others. 'Why must they feel so compelled to dabble with that sort of thing?' she asked.

  
Sollux shrugged. 'It's not too bad, as a casual thing, but it isn't really anything special,' he rubbed the back of his neck. 'In my opinion.'  
Kanaya rolled her eyes, as Gamzee, Nepeta, Eridan and Aradia rejoined the others.

  
'Hello,' Equius nodded to Gamzee.

  
'Hey, man. What's new?' he replied, but stared around at everyone.

  
'Not much. What about you?'

  
Gamzee shrugged. 'That John guy started asking after me,' he said.

  
Kanaya narrowed her eyes noticeably, but said nothing.

  
'Who?' Aradia asked.

  
Nepeta turned to her. 'He's Dave's best friend.'

  
'Yeah, he's the prick that spoke to us like we were shit,' Eridan added with a frown.

  
Sollux remembered him vaguely. He was a big asshole, and acted as though his better education made him superior.

  
Nepeta cocked her head. 'He's been buying from you, then?'

  
'Yeah, and he seems to get through that shit fast.'

  
The conversation changed, but with one glance at Kanaya, Sollux ignored the discussion.

  
'Hey, what's up?' he asked.

  
'Nothing,' Kanaya said. 'I wonder if Rose knows. Or Dave for that matter.'

  
Sollux shrugged, 'We'll talk to them tomorrow about it.'

  
Of course, Eridan took it upon himself to interrupt. 'Is it really any of your business to tell them?'

  
Sollux glanced down at him. 'Uh, this isn't your conversation.'

  
Eridan rolled his eyes. 'I'm just saying that if that Egbert fuck hasn't already told Rose and Dave, is it your place to ruin his secret?'

  
Kanaya thought about it, and even Sollux internally admitted that it made sense, but he would never say it to Eridan's face.

  
'Although, I doubt Rose even wants to come back. I mean, that's probably why she hasn't replied to any of your messages.'

  
Of course, that dumbass would spoil a sensible statement with some of this bullshit.

  
'Shut your fucking mouth,' Sollux said, shaking his head.

  
'What are you going to do-' Eridan started to say, stabilising his stance.

  
'Stop this nonsense,' Kanaya said, voice evidently exasperated, as she stepped in Sollux's (who was willing to make Eridan eat his words) path.

  
Sollux blinked, and looked around at the others. Everyone watching seemed rather interested, but Aradia nodded, and mouthed for him to stop.

  
Eridan stepped back, and shot Sollux a saccharine smile. 'This is the last time I'll let it slide, Captor. I won't be forgiving next time.'

  
Sollux couldn't even recall him being in the wrong in any of these sorts of situations, but even so, Eridan was bluffing. He wasn't even that strong, and Sollux could take him if he tried something.

  
There was a bit of silence, and Sollux smiled also, in challenge, before Gamzee requested they run to the skate park.  
Equius, appointing himself leader for the moment, nodded, and led them all over there.

 

* * *

  
'Hey,' muttered Feferi from Sollux's right side. She continued with her cursive writing regarding the world's greatest deserts, as she tucked some hair behind her ear, and glanced up at Sollux for a moment. 'What even happened last night? Eridan was still agitated on the way to school this morning.'

  
Sollux sighed. 'Yeah, nah, was being an asshole-'  
Sollux broke off at Feferi's frown.  
'Sorry. He was being intolerable, but we didn't fight, or anything. Kanaya mediated, I guess.'

  
'I'd appreciate it if you would be a little easier on him. I don't know what's causing him to be aggressive, but I'm positive there's something…'

  
'FF, he can't be allowed to act like this,' Sollux leaned in closer to her. 'Eridan should learn that friends don't mean property, for fuck's sake. And don't think no ones noticed that he hurts you-'

  
Feferi crossed out her last sentence and continued on, more slowly and forced. 'Can we talk about something else?'

  
Sollux sighed, and looked back at his own piece of paper, which looked much more blank compared to Fef's. She couldn't run from this problem forever. 'Do you know what's up with Aradia?'

  
Feferi bit her lip, 'Nothing's really up, she's just being a normal teenage girl.'

  
'You think that she's going to end it?'

  
'Did you really expect your relationship to last forever?'

  
The teacher crossed over in front of them, and they preoccupied themselves with reading their shared textbook, for the moment.  
Sollux never thought about their relationship ending. He liked Aradia a lot. But if it were one-sided, she'd find herself someone else (Please, not Equius) and Sollux would be expected to.

  
'What about her weird, sudden conformity?' Sollux tried, once the teacher was out of earshot.

  
'I don't know, Sol,' Feferi replied, annoyed. 'She's trying to grow up. Ditching all the things that make her feel like a child,' she broke off, and her eyes widened. 'I didn't mean you!' she attempted, a little too loudly.

  
Sollux shook his head. It was true.

  
'You guys were -are!- forever perfect for each other,' Feferi tried once more. 'And I'm sorry.'

  
Sollux shrugged and continued his work, suddenly feeling less talkative.

 

* * *

  
Sollux was already out the gate, when he was joined by Aradia.

  
'Hey!' she said to him, a little too cheerfully.

  
Sollux grunted, and Aradia peered at him.

  
'What's up,' she asked.

  
'Nothing.'

  
Aradia bit her lip, but then smiled. 'Do I get a kiss, at least?'

  
Sollux glanced at her in surprise, and she planted her lips on his. Sollux pulled away quickly, and continued walking.

  
'What's wrong?' Aradia asked quietly.

  
'I already said there was nothing,' Sollux said, not looking at her again.  
They walked in silence to the bus, and climbed on, sitting away from each other, and Sollux didn't look at her again, for the whole ride.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm sorry about how noticeably lazy I became after scene one, and I wished I could have spent the weekend trying harder, but there's been a death in the family, which sucks a lot, and so I really had to get this out now, or it wouldn't be published in a long while.
> 
> Sorry for possibly destroying characters. I was really worried about doing so, and if you could tell me what I can fix, that'd be great.
> 
> I'm going to update the tag in a bit, to symbolize what I hope is correct use of auspiticism.
> 
> My tumblr is thedavesprite, and I also suggest tagging 'tabr' for updates.
> 
> <3  
> Vivi


	3. ...You Were Dead Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose goes home, has a flashback, before getting an urgent text from Dave.

On the way home from school on Friday, Rose was walking with John. She'd make light conversation and he'd just grunt, shrug or nod. It was pointless trying to talk to him anymore, and Rose didn't even know why she tried. Most of the remainder of the walk lacked conversation, let alone that of the intelligent type. And since Rose had been told about him doing drugs, she was becoming more and more aware that his declining behavior had little to do with her joking comment a few weeks back. But he was still her friend, at least for the time being.

'Hey, Rose.'

'Hello, Dirk,' she replied, setting her things down at the door.

Dirk was not even in sight, but it was assumed he was at the end of the hall, in his room. The door to it was open, revealing dim light.

'Is Dave almost back?' He asked.

Rose frowned, and stared up at the camera in the hall, presumably at Dirk.  
'He's not too far behind,' she said, shrugging, and making her way to the first room on the right.

She stared at the door, which in block pink and red letters stated that she and her brother shared the room, there since the day she and Dave moved in with Dirk. Her guardian had stopped at a news agent's on the way back home and picked the letters up. When they arrived home, Dave had insisted he help affix the letters, and so Rose watched as her brother stood on his tiptoes with a glue gun, and her "bro" handed him the letter V. That was a good day, the day her family was that of three once more. Dave finally had someone to look up to.

'Is something wrong?'

Rose's head snapped to the direction of Dirk's voice. 'Nah,' she replied, shaking off the memory and pushing into her room.  
She missed her Mum.

* * *

 

 _"get the hell over to jades,"_ the first text read.  
 _"please,"_ the second added.

Rose furrowed her brows.  
  
 _"What's wrong?"_

_"she asked for you and i dont know what to do"._

Rose pulled on her coat and grabbed her bag.

'Is Dave okay?' Dirk called from the hallway.

'I believe so. He's at the E-H's place, which is where I'm heading,' she exiting her room, and facing him.

Dirk nodded. 'You won't be out long, lil sis?'

Rose shrugged. 'I'll try not to be. If I am, I'll text you.' She turned and walked to the front door.  
  
'Bye.'  
  
'Yeah.'

The trip that would have normally would have taken fifteen minutes, took only five with Rose rushing. Dave's attempt at explanation fell short of clearing things up, so Rose assumed bad. Was she about to find out what had been troubling Jade since she moved in with the Egberts? Before her grandfather passed, she was always happy. Now she was only such to keep up appearances, as far as Rose had discovered.

Rose could hear the dull and faint echo caused by her finger on the doorbell. Preparing for the white door to be swung outwards at her, she stepped back a little on the timber porch. However, after a moment passed, it became evident that no one was to answer the door. She glanced at the empty driveway for a moment before checking her phone to see if her brother had sent her further instructions.  
He hadn't.  
Rose sighed a little, and tried the door handle, which responded positively to her attempt to pull the door open towards her.

Once inside, and walking passed the antiquely furnished lobby, Rose made her way towards the staircase. On her way, she bumped into Dave.

'Rose!' He said, putting a hand on her shoulder, then lowered his voice.

'She just went into the shower to freshen up a bit.'

Rose raised a brow, and motioned for him to walk with her up the stairs.

'What is even going on?'

Dave frowned a little. 'Apparently Egbert was a huge dick to Jade, right before school ended, and- I guess it was a bunch of other things that built up to it -she kind of... Took it badly?'

Rose nodded, while reaching the top step. 'She panicked?' She asked, over the faint, continuous roar of the shower.

'Yeah,' Dave said, removing his glasses from his face. 'And I really didn't know what to do, and you've always been the one to set things right since Mum-'

Rose closed her eyes for a moment, and disallowed Dave to finish. 'When she gets dressed, we're going to the park.'

'Sis, it's, like, nine degrees out there,' he signaled through the window at the dark blue sky.

'We have to get her out of the house. If we know anything about what'a going on with her, it's that she can't stand this place.'

Dave leaned back on his heels for a moment. 'We'll see what she wants to do?'

'Of course.'

The made their way into Jade's room, and sat on her bed.

'Dirk was worried,' Rose said.

'I didn't really have time to text.'

'Doesn't change the fact that he was worried.'

Dave shrugged. 'You told him I was fine, though?'

Rose nodded, 'I just told him that you were here. I think he was hoping that you'd bring Jade over.'

'Perhaps another day,' he replied.

The rushing of the shower stopped, and Dave and Rose quieted a little, and looked around the room.  
She had come to know it well, since she was first invited over two years ago. And if she knew it well, she wondered how at home Dave felt, having visited at least twice a week.

Though, when Rose's eyes fell onto the red chair in the corner of the room, her question was answered as she recognized three of Dave's jackets

'Do you think that the reason you make yourself feel so at home in this house has anything to do with that Jade feels like a stranger here?'

Dave rolled his eyes. 'Let's not.'

Rose sighed. He probably made himself comfortable to make Jade feel more of such.

After a minute or so of silence, Jade entered, eyes red and puffy, hands clutching her glasses.

'Rose!' She exclaimed, rushing over to hug her.

Rose hugged back, and when they pulled away, she straightened. 'Do you want to go for a walk?'

Jade glanced around the room, and down at her track pants. 'I think that be good,' she said, before her face crumpled slightly.

Dave shot up and placed one of his jackets around her shoulders, and kissed her while Rose picked nonexistent lint off her sleeve.

They stood like this for a short moment, until Jade straightened, and put her glasses on.

'Shall we be off, then?' Rose asked, lightly.

'Yeah!' Jade said with forced enthusiasm. 'Let's get the hell away from here.'

* * *

 

'So where exactly is Mr. Egbert?' Rose asked. She was walking next to her best friend, and Dave walked in front of them, hands in pockets and humming quietly.

'He's working late. He does that, now,' Jade replied, moving her fringe from her eyes.

Rose had more questions, but it was rather unpredictable at this time if it would effect Jade negatively. Instead, Rose let a puff of visible breath from her mouth as she allowed her thoughts to flicker to Kanaya for a moment.

Although she'd seen her every night this past week, it seemed they hadn't had any alone time in a while. Rose figured she'd ask Kanaya if they could go on a date for the next day, but now that Rose was spending this time with Jade, she'd be unable to ask Kanaya in person. She promised herself she'd send her girlfriend a text some time in the next hour. She turned her attention back to Jade.

'And I'm assuming that Egbert the younger is who-knows-where?'

'I guess so. I don't know where exactly,' Jade admitted, twirling the end of a strand of hair.

Dave stopped humming. 'He told me he was meeting up with people who "understand him,"' he scoffed, and looked at the over his shoulder. 'What a dramatic idiot.'

Rose frowned. Did she agree with Dave? John was just going through a phase... Not unlike many of them would? Could it be that he was a bit more a teenager than Rose herself?

'It is quite childish of John,' she said, finally and decidedly. Being a model, albeit conceited, student and then having a downfall like so was not a sign of maturity.

'However...' Rose started, but broke of uncertainly.

'What?' Dave asked.

'He must be feeling really horrible-'

'And angst-y,' Dave muttered.

'-In order to act this way. Maybe he really feels as though we don't understand him,' Rose said with a sigh. 'Maybe we don't.'

Dave looked at the ground, and Jade crossed her arms.

'You can't blame yourselves!' The latter of the two said. 'That's just stupid!'

Dave glanced over his shoulder and looked Rose in the eyes. 'She's right, you know. All teenagers go through shit. He's just deciding to take it out on everyone else.'

Rose gave him a scolding glare. 'As opposed to taking it out on himself? If we're not blaming ourselves, we're not blaming him either. He's our friend no matter how distant.'

Rose, of course, knew she believed her words as she said then, but she couldn't help feeling guilty. She hadn't exactly been thinking positively about John's situation before. However, she had to wonder that if John's actions were causing emotional harm, were they allowed to continue.

'He just needs support,' Rose finally concluded. 'And we'll try give it to him, agreed?'

Dave shrugged. 'Yeah, maybe.'

Jade frowned and stared Rose in the face. 'If I am within my rights, I won't stand for his shit towards me. I want to support him, but he tries being an asshole back, I won't be a victim anymore.'

Dave tripped a little, on the uneven pavement before coming to a stop and staring at Jade. She had her hands in her pants pockets, but she was staring at the twins with determination.

They continued to stare at each other, and Rose felt as though she was intruding, so she step back and thought about where the "Midnight Crew" (it was a name Aradia had coined for them once. Sometimes it seemed to work) were at this moment.

At that exact moment, she saw a person run into the street two blocks down, and continue up the street, away from Rose. She squinted at the figure who was clearly lit up by a streetlight. She recognized the length of the curled, brown hair and the perfect posture of the small fourteen year old.

'Feferi!' Rose called out. Dave and Jade glanced up in surprise, but Rose started waving her arms in the air as the girl turned.

'I'm going to go say "hi" to her, okay?' Rose asked.

'Go ahead,' Jade said with a tired smile.

Rose nodded in thanks and jogged to Feferi. She nearer they came, the more clearly she could see how distressed Feferi was. When they finally were with each other, Rose could see that Feferi was crying, and shaking.

'Fef, what-'

'Do you have your phone on you?'

Rose's brows furrowed as she reached into her pocket. 'Sure,' she replied, voice filled with concern, holding her iPhone out.

'May I please-' she coughed. 'Can I use it?'

'Yes, definitely.'

Feferi took the phone and tapped the screen a few times before holding it up to her ear.  
'You've dialed triple-zero, which emergency service do you require, ambulance, fire department or the police?' Rose heard a female voice say from the phone.

Feferi swallowed, before clearing her throat. 'An ambulance.'

Rose let out a loud breath, and payed careful attention to what Feferi was saying.

'My friend was attacked. He's... He's unconscious.'

Rose's eyes widened. Who? She mouthed.

Sollux.

Rose took in a shaky breath, her hand half way to her face. She thought maybe it got lost there, on the way to covering her mouth.

'He's in- on Law Lane in- at- in Glen's Walk,' Feferi stuttered into the phone.

Now that Rose knew where he was, nothing was holding her back from getting to him. It wasn't even too far away -just off the main road. No matter the distance, Rose had to wonder why Feferi left him alone. Surely even if Feferi didn't have her own phone on her person, she could have used Sollux's phone. Not that it really mattered, though. If Sollux was bleeding out alone, he deserved to have someone with him.

When she turned into the the lane way, she first saw her friend propped up in what might have seemed like a sitting position, cheeks swollen and almost beyond recognition. His blood appeared an odd colour in the shadows, and Rose felt sick.  
'Rose?'

At first, her eyes snapped to Sollux, but it couldn't have been him. Then, the pale, red-head stepped out from the dark, fingers covered in blood.

Rose's eyes grew wide as she stepped back a little. 'Eridan? What did you do?'

He laughed, but his eyes seemed to stare through her. 'I didn't do this to him,' Eridan said. 'I witnessed it, though, along with Feferi. The blood is from me sitting his body up.

Rose stared at him for a few moments, and she could feel her own shallow, loud breaths. Then, she scrunched her eyes closed. 'Oh, God. Sorry, you just -y-you-'

'It's okay,' Eridan said. 'Will help be here soon?'

'I think.' Rose opened her eyes and moved to the body. She checked his pulse, which was surprisingly strong before backing away. 'Did you see... Who did this?'

'Not properly. Feferi and I were a bit ahead of Sollux when it happened, and the bastard ran in the other direction. I tried to go after him but I-' he broke off and stared at his shoes.

Rose blinked a few times fast. 'It's okay. You were in a stressful situation and you did all you could.'

Eridan's face seemed to flash with... anger? It was only for a moment, before he smiled gratefully.

And that's how they stood for the next minute before the rest of her friends arrived, quickly followed by the ambulance.

Dave had called Dirk who drove the twins and Jade to the hospital, and stood with them until they were instructed by the doctors to go home.  
Jade slept on a spare mattress and sleeping bag between Dave's and Rose's beds, and Dave had no nightmares. Perhaps he was too exhausted.

Rose, at least, was certain that she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am extremely sorry about how long this took to upload! Also, I wrote this on my iPad, which is really hard to edit on, and, either way, I'm really sloppy at editing.
> 
> The next chapter, the Sollux one, should be up within the next few weeks.
> 
> Also, my blog is on temporary hiatus, due to the need to get things done (and I can finally tick this off my list) but I still suggest following me for updates when I get back to blogging.
> 
> Temporarily, I'm under the URL 'ser-ket' but will be back to thedavesprite soon.


	4. Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sollux wakes up in a hospital. A police officer visits and explains that he'd been attacked by a stranger, or so is recalled by the two witnesses.   
> Sollux, himself, is surprisingly well, all things considered, and he has guests.

After Sollux had woken up and was lucid, a police officer had come in and told him everything that had happened. Some stranger had attacked him while he was with his friends Eridan and Feferi. Feferi ran to find help, while Eridan looked after the body. Rose, found by Feferi, ran to find Sollux propped up against the wall by Eridan. Soon after, Feferi also returned, having talked to Jade and Dave. The latter two ran to find the rest of the group, and they arrived at the scene just as the ambulance did.

The police officer asked what the attacker looked like, but Sollux stubbornly announced he wasn't pressing charges, or even wanting to know who the attacker was.

The first people to visit him after that were his parents. They'd been worried sick, but soon after discovering Sollux wasn't badly injured, they gave him a long lecture on sneaking out and provoking people. Sollux was too tired to deal with them, so he told them he needed to sleep.

Four hours later, the doctor announced he had visitors, and that he'd be letting them in three at a time.

The first to see him were Aradia, Feferi and Eridan. As soon as they set foot in his room, Sollux had to use almost all of his energy to resist telling them to leave. He couldn't imagine a worse combination.

Eridan seemed to hover at the back of the room, while Aradia and Feferi stood either side of him.

'Sollux,' started Feferi. He looked at her with a small grimace. 'You were attacked… Eridan and I were both there. There was nothing we could-'

'I understand,' said Sollux, although he wasn't entirely sure he did. The only reason he could think of as to why Feferi was lying was that Eridan was threatening her, and that she was terrified. After all, Eridan was the one who had attacked Sollux.

He reached for his plastic, white cup of water, and after sipping it, he said his thanks to Eridan and Feferi for finding help, and he also thanked Aradia for coming to see him.

'Well, everyone's here, actually. They're all just waiting outside…' Aradia said, before smiling. 'But it's good to see you're doing well.'

Sollux smiled unenthusiastically as his heart skipped a beat and he felt sick.

'So… what exactly are your injuries? Obviously no brain damage or anything?' Feferi asked.

'The actual damage done by the attacker was pretty low,' Sollux said with a small smirk. 'Only a broken nose and, ah,' his hand shook as he brought it up to his left cheekbone, which he touched lightly. 'The major damage done was when my head hit the ground -the back of it was split open, and I had to have a bunch of stitches.'

Aradia winced. 'That sucks. Did it hurt?'

'I dunno. I was sort of… out of it,' Sollux replied.

'You going after the guy?' Eridan spoke for the first time.

Sollux bit the inside of his cheek for a moment before attempting a shrug. 'Whoever did it must be pretty low to attack a fifteen year old in the middle of the night, so, nah. I think, as long as I'm still breathing, there's no reason to take action.'

'But what if he does this to someone else?' Aradia inquired.

Sollux blinked before glancing at Eridan. 'If the attacker beats anyone else up, I'll definitely speak up,'  _particularly FF,_ Sollux thought. 

Aradia nodded in agreement, but Feferi looked uneasy. Eridan, however, cleared his throat.

'I think I'm going to give someone else a chance to see you,' he said.

He left, and Feferi agreed, placing a card on his bedside table.

Aradia sat down on the side of his bed, careful to not sit on him, before making sure to look into his eyes.

'Sol, I know you think I've changed, and maybe I have, but I'm still me. And, I still care a lot about you. If you don't want to go out with me anymore, I understand, okay? But just tell me.'

Sollux let out a breath. 'AA, I'm still into you, I just thought-' He trailed off. If his accusation was wrong he didn't want to seem stupid.

'You thought I was into Equius?' she asked, in slight amusement.

Sollux pulled on his ear. 'Maybe.'

Aradia raised her eyebrows. 'No. Maybe for a little while, I thought you were done with me, so I tried to get anybody I could, but obviously Equius is really not the right person to turn to.'

They stared at each other for a few more moments.

'And,' Aradia started. 'I'm sorry for being so needy. I just… I dunno. I thought I was old enough to get… intimate, but now I get that I'm not -that we're both not. I'm sorry for pressuring you.'

Sollux raised a brow. 'Just because I didn't want to have sex doesn't mean the word is taboo, you know?'

Aradia smiled. 'Yeah, sorry-'

There was a cough from outside the door.

Aradia stood. 'I better give everyone else the chance to see you. I'll talk to you later, though, 'kay?' 

'Yeah.'

Just before completely clear of the room's door, Aradia muttered something in Mandarin Chinese to a person on the other side, before laughing.

Dave entered, chuckling under his breath, holding some chocolate, with a smiling Rose in tow. Those twins were inseparable. Perhaps it was because they were only able to depend on each other when they were taken away from their mum? Sollux didn't know the full story, and honestly, as long as the two were alive and functioning, he didn't care much about their past.

The Stri-Londes stopped at the end of Sollux's bed, expressions hardening. 

Sollux waited for a greeting of some sort, but it didn't seem to be coming, so he stared right back at them.

Finally, Dave started to laugh, and Rose hid a smile with the back of her palm.

'What is it?' Sollux demanded. 

This seemed to make Dave more amused, but he attempted to compose himself. 'Sorry, man, but it's so good to see you're okay. And glaring. And… lisp-y.'

'Just give me your damn chocolate and leave,' Sollux said in mock agitation.

Dave moved to put it on Sollux's bedside table. 'It's honeycomb,' he said.

'That is the flavour you like most, is it not?' Rose asked.

'Nailed it,' Sollux replied, as she came closer. 'Thanks.'

'You better be fucking thankful,' Dave replied. 'We were worried sick about you, man.'

'Literally,' Rose added, resentfully.

Sollux looked down for a moment. He knew they didn't really mean to, but they were blaming him for the attack. It made him feel especially bitter as the culprit just walked out the fucking door.

'You were that worried?' Sollux asked.

'We Lalonde-Striders care very much for the wellbeing of others,' Rose said, eyes flickering down for a moment.

'Particularly our friends,' Dave continued. 'You're important to us.'

Sollux stared back and forth between the two, and was about to say something before Rose spoke.

'Not going to look for the guy then?' She inquired.

'Nah, yeah, I don't think. He's probably just some stoner.'

'You don't know who it is, then?' Rose narrowed her eyes and wiped her right hand over her left's fingertips.

Sollux glanced at the two of them. He got along with both of them very well, but if Feferi was on the line, he'd have to stay quiet.

'No idea,' he lied, staring her right in the eyes.

Dave coughed. 'Whoever did it is not important. Don't worry about it, man. And we have to get out of here, but we'll see you maybe tomorrow?'

'Yeah, o' course.'

'Great,' said Rose with a smile. Then the twins left the room, with Rose beginning to mutter something to Dave.

Rose was smart. 

No, Rose was incredibly smart. It was no wonder Kanaya was so proud to be going out with her. But, a possible equal with her intelligence was being a good friend. It didn't seem Rose was going to call him out on his lies.

Sollux had to wonder, though, what Rose might have seen when she arrived at the alleyway. 

Sollux shook the thoughts away, as Nepeta, Equius and Kanaya entered.

Sollux groaned internally. It wasn't that he didn't like Nepeta and Equius (Maybe he disliked Equius a little) but it was that he could hardly hold a conversation with them. Kanaya, though, was a great sight for sore eyes.

'Are you okay?' Nepeta asked, fiddling with her cat-eared headband. 

'Could have been worse,' Sollux replied with a small nod.

'Thats great!' Nepeta said with a smile, and placed a get-well card on his bedside table.

Sollux noticed Equius standing against the side wall. 'Hey, Eq.'

'Hello, Sollux. You don't know who did this, I hear?'

Sollux bit back a sigh of exasperation. 'No, I don't.'

Equius frowned. 'If we can't ensure the man who did this will stop, I must do a better job protecting people.'

Sollux narrowed his eyes at him for a second, wondering if he was for real.

'Sol, hey.'

Sollux turned his head to Kanaya. 'Hey, Kan. Sup?'

'Not much, but it seems you're in quite the predicament.'

'It's probably a lot worse than you think,' Sollux said with a wry smile.

'How so?'

Sollux shrugged, and let his eyes wonder back to Equius and Nepeta. If he looked at Kanaya too much, she'd probably get the truth out of him.

'Friendship bracelets, huh?' Sollux observed.

Equius smiled proudly, and held out his wrist, for Sollux to examine. 'Nepeta made them.'

'It says "Best Friends Fur-ever,"' Nepeta stated.

'Congratulation and good luck,' Sollux said, sounding less sarcastic than he'd intended. But, really, it was really odd that Equius and Nepeta became so close, after meeting a month ago on their first midnight run.

Nepeta beamed at him, and Kanaya let out a sigh.

'How's it been, in the hospital?'

'Cold and boring,' Sollux replied. 'Kind of like school.'

Sollux's hand reached up to the back of his head, carefully, but in thought. 'The jelly is actually good here, though.'

'When are you getting out?' 

'I dunno. The hospital is pretty much done with me, but I think they want to do another sort o' test? They don't really tell me things.'

'Well, if you're still here tomorrow, I'll bring you Oporto's, kay?'

Sollux smiled. 'Make that Nando's and we have a deal.'

Kanaya gave him a meaningful look. 'And then we can talk some more, yeah?'

Sollux looked down, realising she'd cornered him a little. 'I dunno. We'll see.'

Soon after, everyone left and Sollux was exhausted, and was left to think about everything that had happened.

He'd said something mildly provoking to Eridan. Sollux couldn't even really remember what it was, however he'd said it, continued walking, when Eridan had pulled him from the back of Sollux's shirt, into the lane, and started beating him up. Feferi had shouted, and Sollux thought she might have ran at Eridan, but Eridan pushed Sollux to the ground. The last thing Sollux had heard before passing out completely, was a pained shout from Feferi.

Sollux coughed and felt himself wanting to die, however surprised to realise that the main thing stopping him was his friends. He'd always thought he'd leave them in a heartbeat, however he needed to be there for them, particularly Feferi.

Damn his fucking friends. Damn Sollux for loving those bastards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added this one so quickly after the other as an apology for the long wait between chapters 2 & 3 and also because not much happens in this chapter. However, I needed it in the story -all plots have their rises and falls!
> 
> I hope you liked it. Please tag 'This All Bears Repeating' on tumblr for updates.
> 
> Also, I reckon you should listen to the song this fanfiction was named after, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsXKa97J6pM


	5. Round One: Let's Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Kanaya hang out together, despite an inexplicable tension between them.

Rose and Kanaya were lounging around the former's house, not at all bored, and completely content with each other's company. Rose was lying down, head in Kanaya's lap and reading the fourth _Children of the Mist_ book. It was a historical romance, that she borrowed from her library. Kanaya was watching the television, flipping back and forth between _Fashion TV_ and some sort of teen drama, all the while stroking Rose's hair.

Dirk wandered into the living room with a white cable coiled around his arms. He stopped behind the couch and blinked at the TV for a moment. '

Hell yes! I missed them as a couple so much' He then glanced down at Kanaya. Rose rolled her eyes, but smiled, before getting back to her book.

Dirk walked out of sight for a moment, before strolling back with a tool belt slung across his shoulder. Kanaya yawned.

'Does it concern you that we're probably in one of his films, right now?'

Rose shrugged as best as she could, while lying down. 'I like to think of them as very, very independent indie works, and that I'm helping him with it.'

Rose's girlfriend smiled and changed the channel again.They sat in silence for a few more moments, before Dave walked passed.

'Oh, hey, Maryam.'

'Hello, Dave. How are you?'

'Not as good as that dress, apparently. I really like the way it reminds me of the ocean, you dig?' He pointed to the screen.

Kanaya gave him a smile. 'You have an impeccable taste in fashion, as per usual.'

Dave popped an imaginary collar, and glanced down at his year-old jeans. 'So I'm told.'

He continued to walk passed, before returning eventually with the same thick cable Dirk had carried a minute ago.

They listened to his soft footsteps leading back to his room.

'Do you ever wonder what it would be like if our relationship wasn't accepted by our families?'

'Sometimes,' Rose admitted. 'It's never even come up with Bro, though, but he likes you. And I believe that he likes that I like you.'

'Do you think your mum would be accepting?'

Rose glanced into Kanaya's dark eyes from around her book, before closing it. 'I have no idea. Obviously, I'd like to hope she wouldn't, but maybe that would be idolising -and idealising- her too much.'

'I understand. It's great that Dirk and Dave don't mind, though, so that we can spend time together like we are right now. I like you're house.'

'It that because of the Foxtel?'

Kanaya laughed. 'More to do with that I love to see you in what I should perhaps call your natural habitat.'

Rose gave her a small smile before realising her girlfriend could likely see up her nose. Rose sat up slowly, and moved to sit next to, rather than on top of, Kanaya. Midway through this action, Kanaya stopped her and gave her a kiss, but Rose broke it off quickly.

'Let's save it until later tonight,' Rose suggested. 'Although, if you want to leave for your house to enable an earlier start, I am in full support.'Kanaya glanced around. 'Aren't you afraid Dirk or Dave just heard what you just said?'

They heard two faint mutters of affirmation at this from the hallway, before Rose turned back to Kanaya who looked slightly uncomfortable.

'It's no secret. For example, Dave is always staying over at Jade's house, and he is far from subtle about it.'

Kanaya nodded, uncertainly. 'So... you've discussed this? As a family?'

Rose shook her head. 'But it's not like Dirk is in the dark on the knowledge of what Dave and I are doing when we're out, by any means. It would be a bit foolish for him not to know what happened when we come back disheveled from our respective partner's house.'

'I understand. Although, I do wonder if this knowledge makes things awkward?'

'We have a mutual understanding in this house that we're not here to judge each other.That, and privacy is a general rule around here when it comes to matters of such.'

Kanaya brushed a strand of hair back from her face. 'I envy you so much.'

Rose felt temporarily stung by Kanaya's words, as her girlfriend should have a good idea by now that Rose's family experience wasn't so peachy, however, Rose blinked the feeling away. She wasn't going to ruin a night by getting into yet another fight.

Soon, they were on the train, riding to Kanaya's house, as it would be there wherein they'd have significant privacy so as to engage in equally significant private affairs. Not for the first time, their conversation was lulled, perhaps even awkward, with Rose not knowing how to close the silence. Kanaya seemed to be avoiding eye contact, looking out the window at the graffiti, as Rose hid her unease.

Finally, she worked up the courage to speak. 'Is something wrong?'

Kanaya blinked, and turned to Rose, with the expression of confusion on her face, which led Rose to wonder whether her silence had actually been personal or not.

'What? Why?' Kanaya asked, pulling a strand of hair from her lipgloss.

Rose shrugged, regretting having said anything. 'You're just really quiet.'

'Oh,' Kanaya almost appeared offended. 'I've always been like this on the train. I like looking outside, is all.'

'You definitely used to be more talkative.'

'Maybe you just don't pay as much attention to me as you thought.'

Rose frowned, and trained her eyes on the floor, and was quiet. Suddenly, Kanaya placed a hand on her knee.

'I'm sorry, Rose. I think I'm just... on edge since what happened to Sollux,' she smiled apologetically.

Rose blinked, and wondered if compensating for insulting one's own girlfriend really was as simple as that.

'You know it's okay,' Rose said, without really meaning it. 'But, speaking of, wouldn't you say something is odd about the whole situation?'

'What do you mean "odd"?'

' _Odd._ Do you really think that some random guy stood in an alleyway, waiting for the unsuspecting teenager, jumped him, beat him up to the point of being hospitalized, all while Feferi and Eridan were just _standing there?'_

Kanaya narrowed her eyes, not looking at Rose. 'Well, I've certainly never found much reason to doubt it until now. Do you think, perhaps, they were too afraid to help Sollux?'

'I don't know about Eridan, but that would never have stopped Feferi,'

'What are you trying to say, that Feferi and Eridan were the people who waited in the alleyway for the unassuming teenage boy? That is more unlikely than what we know to be the truth.'

Rose pursed her lips. 'It's not that.'

'Then, what?'

'I think, maybe, Feferi wanted to help, but...'

'Rose?'

'But Eridan stopped her, maybe hurting her. Maybe Sollux was attacked, and Eridan intentionally let it happen.'

'That is silly.'

Rose bore her eyes into Kanaya's, begging for her to understand what she was saying. 'Feferi had bruises on her arms when we were visiting Sollux.They probably are still there.You should ask her about them.'

'They're just bruises and she was wearing sleeves.' 'Humor me.' Kanaya looked out the window. 'I'll think about it.' 'Thanks.'

The speaker sounded overhead, and the train slowed. 'This is us,' Kanaya reminded Rose, standing up.

Rose followed suit, and edged towards the exit. From the train station, it was a mere two minute walk to Kanaya's house, and then everything would be okay between them, at least temporarily.

* * *

 

That night, after spending the evening in Kanaya's beautiful house and polite, yet strained, company, they went out onto the streets.They were, of course, considerably nervous, with the appearance of Sollux's blood fresh in Rose's mind, however, they'd fallen to Aradia's coercion. Plus, they were watching a movie first, which sweetened the deal.

When they were walking back to the train station, back to Kanaya's house, the three found themselves crossing to the other side of the street every time they were to cross paths with other people, the recent incident still reminding them of what trouble looked like.

'We'll cross here,' said Kanaya, quietly, as a hooded person jogged towards them. Before, they crossed, Aradia halted. 'I think I recognise him,' she muttered. 'How can you recognise him? he's in a hood.' Kanaya replied, tugging on her varsity jacket's sleeve.

Rose paused and stared at the jogger. 'Guys, that's John.'

Kanaya frowned. 'John?' She called, tentatively.

'Yes!' John confirmed, slowing as he neared them, smiling enthusiastically. 'Hi, Rose! And Kanaya and... Ferrari?'

'It's Aradia, actually,' Aradia corrected with a frown.

'John, it's, like, eleven, what are you jogging for?' Rose asked, deterred by John's cheerful appearance.

'I'm out to get some food, no big deal,' John answered, glancing behind the girls.

'From where?' Rose asked. 'There's no where around here.'

'Moorpoint South, obviously.'

Rose frowned. 'John, that's over an hour's walk away.'

'And I'm hungry, so I gotta go.'

Rose frowned at him, as he attempted to navigate around them. 'Are you high?' She asked.

John shook his head. 'Nope, just hungry. See you at school, Rose!' And he pushed passed Aradia, and continued jogging away from them.

'What the hell?' Rose mused to her friends, as they stared after him. 'That was really random,' Aradia said.

'Uh, indeed it was. Do _you_ guys think he was high? Because, the only person I know of that he could know to buy drugs from is Gamzee, and that's-'

'Ridiculous. And I'm cold. Can we please go?' Kanaya asked, driving Rose's elbow in the desired direction. 'You guys would know if he was getting drugs from Gamzee, right?' Rose wondered, walking again. 'Probably,' Kanaya said, breathing out, loudly. Aradia fidgeted noticeably.

'Aradia?' Rose questioned.

'Yes, John has been getting drugs from Gamzee,' she said, with a little sigh.

'Seriously?' Rose said. 'You've known? Did _you_ know, Kan?'

Kanaya frowned. 'I'm sorry, Rose, but I didn't want to say anything until John talked to you. '

Rose knew it was logical, but she bristled internally. 'Isn't it your obligation to me, as girlfriend, to tell me stuff like that against better judgement?'

'Hey, I was only doing what I thought was right.'

'And all this time I've been worrying about him to you, and-'

Aradia coughed inconspicuously, and Rose frowned.

'Whatever. It's not important,' she said, not meaning it, and they continued to walk on with silence.

Rose felt like she met a lot of silence lately, and she decided she didn't like it. Not one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for how long this took. I've actually had this completed chapter lying around for ages, and never got around to uploading it. The next chapter is also complete so hopefully it'll be up in a week or two.
> 
> I also just saw a bunch of dumb mistakes, so I'll fix em in the next few hours
> 
> My new URL is georgettemeissonier


	6. Sing-Song Rambling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sollux is back in school.

'So, how's grounded life working out for you?' Aradia asked, skipping to catch up with Sollux, who was leaving the locker room.

'Besides night time, I never even went out much, anyway. So, I wouldn't say there's too much of a difference,' Sollux replied with a shrug, which made his pencil case fall from on top of his stack of books.

Aradia, who had her hands free, darted to the ground to pick it up, but hung onto it, instead of returning it.

'Thanks. And, anyway, I've gotten some more programming done, which is always good.'

'Uh-huh. Do you think you're dad will let me hang out at your house tonight?' Aradia asked.

'He'd kill the both of us. I don't think either of my parents like you, knowing that you were a person I snuck out with.'

'How do they know I was there?'

Sollux glanced at her sideways. 'They saw you at the hospital.'

'Oh. _Oh._ They saw me crying.That's embarrassing.'

Sollux paused, before commencing to keep pace. 'You cried? Actually, I think you being worried about me might make them like you more. Make it seem like you understand the consequences of roaming around at night and whatever the hell else they can come up with.

'Well, sure, but I don't think you're understanding how horrible I look when I cry,' Aradia reminded him, tossing his black and green pencil case between her hands.

'You never look-'

'Or, how much more horrible than usual I look when I cry,' she corrected herself.

'That isn't how it is, and you know it,' Sollux said, turning into their home room.

'I really don't know it, Sol,' she replied, dropping his case on the table next to hers. 'But I don't think that's going to change any time soon.'

'Anyway,' she started. 'Equius texted me last night to say that Feferi told him that you mentioned to her that Dave IM'd you that Rose and that John guy had a big fight, and now John's missing.'

'Does anyone not care about gossip in this city?'

'Hey, I'm hooked. What happened?'

'I'm pretty sure you know that the tension between the two was building for a while.'

'But he's missing? Seriously?'

'Yeah. I mean, all I know is that he wasn't in school yesterday or this morning. I didn't really press for details, though, as I don't actually care.'

'Would Gamzee know?'

'That's what Kanaya reckons.'

'Kanaya knew before me? Damn it, this is why I like to know this stuff. Even when it's things you all "don't actually care" about, I still know last.'

'Next time, I'll send you a message via hawk with all the useless gossip-y tidbits I get my disinterested hands on, I promise.'

'Perfect,' Aradia said with an amused smile. 'Anyway, maybe we should talk to Gamzee, for Rose and Dave.'

'You're right, probably, but after my career as gossip-monger, I'd like to stay out of it.'

Aradia furrowed her brows. 'Fair enough, I guess, although I can't understand just leaving it there.'

'It's a lazy, uncaring person thing.'

'Uh-huh,' Aradia replied, glancing at the doorway behind them, at the students entering.

'I'm going to say "hi," to Nep, I'll be right back,' she said.

'Sure,' Sollux muttered, at the already-gone Aradia, and took a seat.

'What,' said a new voice, at his ear, 'the fuck, man,' Turning behind him, Sollux saw Feferi crouching behind him.

'You told Kanaya that Eridan was the one who beat you up?'

'What? No, I didn't,' Sollux replied in surprise. 'She has no clue.'

Feferi slid into the seat next to him. 'Why else would she be interrogating me about my bruises?'

'Woah, seriously?'

'She didn't say outright that she knew but she definitely does. She said that she saw the marks on my arm and how they look "remarkably like someone grabbed me too hard," and asked if I got them from the guy who attacked you.'

'Shit.'

'I _told_ you that we had to keep this on the low, Sol.'

'I didn't tell anyone!' Sollux protested.

'How else would she have known?'

'Maybe she doesn't. Maybe she was just making conversation.'

'That's not likely.'

'Well, what if-'

'Yo, Feferi, you're in my seat,' Aradia had wondered up to them, with Nepeta, who was texting someone.

'I'll talk to you later, 'kay?' Feferi muttered quietly, and standing.

'Hey, how are...' Aradia trailed off, as Feferi left the room. '...you?' She finished, quietly. 'Is everything okay?'

'Yeah, I was just talking about Eridan, and she didn't like what I had to say,' Sollux figured it was the easiest, most plausible lie, which was affirmed by Aradia sighing, and taking the seat next to him. Behind her, Nepeta absent-mindedly took the next seat along, typing out something with her thumbs.

'Sollux, maybe you should lighten up on him. He did help save you.'

Sollux sniggered, before realizing his mistake, and turning it into a transparent, fake cough.

'What?'

'N- nothing.You're right, I guess,' Sollux said.

'That's the second time you've agreed with me today. What are we celebrating?' Although she joked, she stared at him intensely.

'The usual, "I'm-out-of-excuses-to-not-be-in-school" holiday,' Sollux gave a shrug, and fiddled with the zip on his case

Aradia scoffed, and nudged Nepeta. 'Watcha doin'?'

'I'm role-playing with one of my internet friends,' Nepeta grinned. 'My character just murdered her entire family to get them to become friends. Isn't that cool?'

Sollux and Aradia exchanged looked of concern. 'Um?'

Nepeta's smiled and she shrugged. 'Guess you have'ta be in it to get it. Which, in case you're wondering, I totally encourage.'

'I'll pass,' Sollux said.

'Hm, maybe I could, like, sit on the sidelines? It looks pretty cool but I probably have, like, zero talent for it,' Aradia said.

'I'll talk to my partner about it,' Nepeta responded, brightly, before continuing to type on her phone.

'I had no idea that would be your sorta thing. Isn't it kinda lame for you?' Sollux mumbled.

'I resent that,' she replied, before lowering her voice. 'And I'm being a good friend, you should try it sometime.'

'Yes, I definitely care about pretending to be into furry role-playing, given how I've been wasting my time lately. It's almost like... I've had all this time spent trying to recover from both the physical and psychological trauma of getting attacked in the middle of night. Isn't that weird?'

'You should probably try being less sarcastic too, nimrod,' Aradia said, turning her attention to a sketch of a flower on her desk's top.

'Nimrod? That's offensive, even for you, AA,' Sollux deadpanned, watching her try to rub the graffiti off of her table with her fingertips.

'Oh, shut up,' she said, examining blue ink on her fingers.

'Gladly,' he sighed, as the bell went. He thanked god the teacher was late, because doing nothing was a solid hobby of his. It's not like he was retaining the lessons, anyway. He was just there to look pretty (that is, pretty fucking bored), and think about graduation, as was only natural for a year nine, public school student.

'Hey, do you ever think of the private school that Dave and Rose go to?' Aradia asked, reaching over into Sollux's pencil case, and picking out a pen for herself.

'So, I'm allowed to talk, or is this some kind of test?'

'Wow, Sollux, don't be a douche,' she commanded, poking the back of his hand lightly with the pen. She paused to make sure he wasn't going to interrupt, before continuing. 'But, like, what if we went to a private school? Would we end up like that John kid, or would we be like Rose and Dave? Or, um, that other girl. Dave's girlfriend.'

'The one that was there when we competed to kick out the most streetlights, or the one that willingly arm-wrestled Equius?'

'Uh, I thought they both were her.The cute one, with the glasses and the buck teeth.'

'Wasn't the streetlight one the one with all the dog hair?'

'Same girl,' Aradia decided.

'Really? I thought the arm-wrestler girl didn't have glasses.'

'Contact lenses, Sollux.'

'If your sure. I'm think that's Jade.'

'Yeah, her,' Aradia paused. 'What did you think the other girl's name was?'

Sollux tugged on his earlobe. 'I had no idea.'

Aradia snickered. 'Oh, um, yeah. Who do you think we'd be like?'

Sollux shrugged, as the teacher walked through the door, greeting the class cheerfully. 'Nothing can change who we are. We'd still be us.'

'Woah, that's deep. I think.' They were quiet as the teacher began to talk about Macbeth, and Sollux tuned out entirely.

Aradia got him thinking. It was kind of sad to think that, if extra money and effort was put into him attending a private school, nothing would change about him at all. At least, he hoped he would be a bit smarter, more social and eloquent, not to mention broke at the fees. It was also unrealistic for him to think he'd be a completely different person, like, the kind who owned a uniform jumper vest, but who could say? On that note, who would want to say?

_Not me._

 

* * *

_he's back'_

_'really? no one here knew anything'_

_'yeah he just went to the city and crashed at some other friend's place'_

_'is everything cool then?'_

_'hell no. i mean, shes been bitching to me about him and vice versa. should I pick a side'_

_'that's the worst mistake you can make. keep me posted, can't talk now'_

Sollux shoved his phone into his pocket in time for the teacher to, well, ignore him completely. He guessed he wasn't really going to get in trouble for texting Dave in class, anyway, but it was probably good not to risk it. Besides, Eridan was giving him dirty looks that Sollux concluded should be returned.

'Yo, are you planning on hitting the streets anytime soon?'

'Aradia, you've been grounded at least three times already this year, in comparison to me, who has been grounded once.'

'Your point?'

'I seem to understand the meaning of the word better than you!'

'You snuck out before, what's really stopping you, now?'

'Uh-'

'And don't play the victim card.That's just silly,' Aradia said, tossing her ponytail behind her shoulder.

'I thought you said last period to Kanaya that you understood how tough things were for me, right now.'

'I understand that you're not usually this much of a weenie.'

'Compared to what? The last, nonexistent time I got beat up?'

'God, Sollux, can't we have a conversation without you being a dick?' Sollux must have recoiled visibly, because Aradia sighed.

'Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be such a... uh, such a...'

'Nimrod?' Sollux suggested, attempting humor.

Aradia seemed to find this even more antagonising. 'Oh, piss off,' she mumbled, returning to her work.

Sollux cursed himself internally before looking down at his page, too. It had only been a short while that they had been, what Sollux would consider 'okay,' but goddamn him if he were lying when he said he kept on messing up between him and Aradia. He considered the method of trying to distance himself from her, to give her a simple excuse for her to break up with him, but, maybe he should strive to fix things.

'Aradia, I-'

She turned to him suddenly, and kept her voice low. 'And don't you dare try and _not_ speak to me again, so that we can have a "clean break up". That's just BS, and you and I both know that neither of us wanna split.'

Sollux began to speak again, but didn't quite know where to start, stunned by how well Aradia knew him.

'You are _so_ infuriating sometimes, even for the little things. Like, I really want to murder you sometimes, and it was only this morning that you and I were chatting fine about your parents seeing me at the hospital, and it's only been, like, seven hours, and I already-' she broke off and stared at her hands, not noticing how surprised Sollux probably looked.

'I'm going off on tangents, sorry. What I'm trying to say is that I don't _want_ to break up with you, no matter how you make me want to kill you. I really like you Sollux. Really, really,' she was speaking really fast, and Sollux struggled to process it all.

Sollux cleared his throat. 'I like you too, but this is just how I am.'

'And I can get behind that. I mean, a little quarrel is nothing, but can you _at least try_ to be a little less antagonising to me?'

'Can you both _at least try_ to shut up?' Nepeta asked, leaning in.

Sollux ignored her. 'Kinda. I mean, I guess, but it's really hard to tell where I'm going wrong.'

Aradia snorted. 'I can tell you, if you want.'

'Go ahead if you're not gonna be so... harsh when it happens.'

'So we have a deal?'

'Yes.'

'I can hear your lisp from here, Sollux,' Nepeta shout-whispered. 'And your sing-song rambling, Aradia. _Be quiet!'_

'Nepeta, stop talking,' the teacher called from his table.

'Fuck,' she muttered, as Aradia mouthed an apology.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it seems a bit unfinished, and that's kind of true. I did have a closing little paragraph at the end to tie the chapter off, but it seemed even more out of place amongst the dialogue-heavy work, so I took it out.
> 
> Um, yeah, I've also had this chapter written for ages, and I forgot to actually let it make a buffer, so now I'm going to have to quickly get to writing the next chapter, which, I honestly haven't planned properly, yet.
> 
> And I'm not going to lie, these last two chapters were, in a way, filler chapters? Or token relationship chapters. There were some things I needed to draw the attention away from, and I'm hoping that worked as I begin to play with some of the other arcs.
> 
> (also, I don't think I have many chapters left 'til the end, which, I mean, /thank god/. I'm trying to do original stuff while brainstorming my next fic and this, though I love TABR, is giving me utter hell)
> 
> Remember to tag 'this all bears repeating' on tumblr!


	7. DISCONTINUED -DETAILS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Details about where the story was headed.

Hello, readers! I'm not sure if anyone actually still cares about this, because it's been maybe over a year since I last updated, but I have (obviously) discontinued This All Bears Repeating.

The reasons for this are that I'm not SUPER into Homestuck anymore, fanfiction is not something I ever really want to write again, and also that this story kind of... flopped, I guess (flashbacks of the drug-buying chapter. I'm SO sorry about that, I don't know what I was thinking).

So for those of you who didn't get the memo, I based TABR on Two by The Antlers, which can be listened to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsXKa97J6pM

I based a good portion of this off a section of the lyrics (in actuality, I got two chapters through and realised how well those lyrics fit. I'll pair each line with a character or two and explain it afterwards.

There's two people living in one small room [Rose, Dave]  
From your two half-families tearing at you [Feferi]  
Two ways to tell the story (no one worries) [Sollux, Eridan]  
Two silver rings on our fingers in a hurry [Nepeta and Equius]  
Two people talking inside your brain [Gamzee]  
Two people believing that I'm the one to blame [Kanaya, John]  
Two different voices coming out of your mouth [Aradia]  
While I'm too cold to care and too sick to shout [Jade]

Alright!

Rose and Dave obviously share a bedroom, so that's pretty straightforward.

I was going to write about Feferi having divorced and remarried parents who were basically making life incredibly hard for her, and she starts to get worn away by them "tearing" at her

This line is about how there were two different versions of the Eridan Beats Up Sollux arc thing. One that it was a random attack on Sol, and the other that Eridan actually did it. It seems like Rose and Kanaya start to catch on, but they get distracted, and no one ends up knowing.

The "silver rings" in this one were the friendship bracelet things that (I'm pretty sure I wrote about) Equius and Nepeta gave to each other. The part about it being done in a hurry, is that I was more or less going to tear them apart, make them lose trust and friendship with one another (as a testament about how decisions you make when you're young don't really stick... this is called "This All Bears Repeating," after all)

Okay, I didn't really have a lot on the Gamzee one, except that he was going to be diagnosed as having some sort of condition. Most people would have lost touch with him after that.

Okay, so both Kanaya and John are the two people who think that Rose was to blame for what happens to Jade.

Aradia's two different voices are how she is a bit two-faced in this. This was more or less already established.

Jade being too cold to care and too sick to shout is about her depression, and how, in what was probably going to be the last chapter before the epilogue, she was going to commit suicide.

 

Something else that was going to happen was that Bro manages to track down Dave and Rose's mum. They go to visit her, and Rose finds out that, yes, she really did idolise her, and that their mum is a really big mess and misremembers things, and forgets Rose's name and stuff. While they are visiting her, Dave and Rose (in particular) are distraught that their memories of their mum have more or less been destroyed. They keep to themselves for maybe a week, off social media, and still visiting their mum (out of Melbourne). During this time, Jade is going through a crisis, and because both Dave and Rose serve as her crutches, and are unreachable, Jade starts thinking suicidal thoughts, and eventually goes through with them.  
Kanaya breaks up with Rose, believing it to be entirely her fault for Jade's suicide.  
I hadn't thought of a major Sollux arc, really.

The epilogue would have been Rose and Dave returning home with Bro, and finding that they can hardly be around each other, because they are reminded of Jade. Rose stops eating. They visit Jade's funeral, and John starts to shout at them about how it's their fault. Everyone else in the group doesn't blame them, but are all pretty distraught by what happened.

This All Bears Repeating was never going to have a happy ending. When someone says that something bears repeating, it means that it is worth telling others. This story was, as in the summary, meant to be a cautionary tale.

 

I'm very sorry to anyone out there who was genuinely interested in this fanfic. I know it's not the same, but I hope you're satisfied by the ending. I won't write anymore fanfiction, though, so I'm equally sorry for anyone who is looking forward to other works of mine.

Thank you to the people who commented, and gave kudos. I appreciated your encouragement a lot while I was uploading with frequency, and without your encouragement I probably wouldn't be able to write like I do today. Sorry for being cheesy. I've just been sitting on this story for two and a bit years, now, and I'm getting a bit sentimental.

Thanks.

**Author's Note:**

> This All Bears Repeating was born out of laziness. I wished to write something I was familiar with -teenagers, private school, Australians, year eight & nine, and, of course, the longing to get the hell out of this place.  
> It is also to be juggled along with school, and 2-3 novels.
> 
> The work is going to change, depending on feedback, I guess. 
> 
> My tumblr is elend-venture.
> 
> This story has been discontinued. Read chapter seven for details


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